Featuring interactive lectures, case presentations and smaller workshops

Welcome to the 2026 Update in General Surgery, taking place at the Toronto Hilton Hotel, Thursday April 16th to Saturday April 18th.

The goal of this conference is to enhance the knowledge, clinical judgment, and technical decision-making of practicing surgeons by providing evidence-based updates, practical strategies, and expert perspectives across breast, colorectal, hepatobiliary, upper GI, abdominal wall, and wellness domains. Through case-based discussions and emerging research, participants will strengthen their ability to deliver safe, patient-centred, and innovative surgical care.

Our carefully designed program and invited speakers will:

  • Update participants on evolving standards of care in breast, gastrointestinal, and general surgery.
  • Improve diagnostic accuracy and treatment selection in complex and atypical presentations.
  • Promote evidence-based management of surgical complications and high-risk patients.
  • Foster critical appraisal of emerging literature and technologies.
  • Support surgeon wellness, resilience, and sustainable practice.

    • 2026 Hot Topics:

  • “I Meshed Up!” — Managing Mesh Complications in Hernia Repair
  • Gallbladders Gone Wrong: Managing the Difficult Case
  • What Do I Do With…? Answers to Common Surgical Headaches
  • Endoscopy in the Hot Seat: Upper GI Bleeds, Polyps, and More
  • Acute Care Surgery Reality Check


    • We look forward to seeing you in April!

    Guest Speakers

    Jean-François Boileau

    Jean-François Boileau MD MS FRCSC
    Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery
    McGill University
    Director, Jewish General Hospital
    Breast Clinical Trials Group

    Dr Boileau is an associate professor in the Departments of Surgery and Gerald Bronfman Oncology at McGill University. He is a surgical oncologist and director of the Breast Clinical Trials Group at the Montreal Jewish General Segal Cancer Centre and a founding member of the Quebec McPeak-Sirois Clinical Trials Consortium. He is an author on the breast neoadjuvant PALLET (Palbociclib), KRISTINE (Trastuzumab emtansine) and KEYNOTE-522 (Pembrolizumab) trials published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lancet Oncology and in the New England Journal of Medicine.

    As the Principle Investigator of the SN FNAC study (Journal of Clinica Oncology), he has contributed to establishing sentinel node biopsy as a acceptable option to re-stage the axilla of node positive breast cance patients after neoadjuvant therapy.

    Ahmer Azhar Karimuddin

    Ahmer Azhar Karimuddin MD FRCSC
    Professor, Head, CN Woodward Chair
    Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia
    St. Paul's Hospital, Providence Health